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I am blessed to have a very dearest and best friend. Yes, my husband is my best friend. My daughter is also my best friend. But, a girl needs a girlfriend kind of a dearest and best friend too. Debbi is that person in my life. What would I do without her?!

This fine friendship is clearly from the Lord. We were very casually acquainted 25 years ago. That’s it. I knew nothing about her. She knew nothing about me. We didn’t see or hear of each other since that time until two years ago. Through a strange series of events on Facebook I heard that she had attended the same elementary school as me. This information caused me to strike up a conversation with her through Facebook to inquire further. That conversation took place two years ago today. Simply put, we’ve been BFFs ever since. I needed her in my life. But, I didn’t know that until I was blessed to have her in my life. I wouldn’t want to do life without her. It wasn’t too long after our friendship began that we discovered some interesting facts . . . we lived in the same neighborhood as children, only a few blocks from each other; we hung out at all the same places; we attended the same elementary, junior high and high schools (although she’s two years older than me, so she was two grades ahead of me; and for the record, that makes me 22 since she claims to be forever 24). I cannot even begin to list all of the things that we have in common – WordPress simply doesn’t allow me enough space to cover that much ground.

Source: J.Crew

I recently discovered this photo on a friend’s site (her blog is absolutely lovely – EAB Designs). For some reason, even though we both have fairly short hair, this picture made me think of Debbi and me. So I asked my Debbi if we could please grow our hair out so that we can braid it together like these two sweet ones. She said, “Very cute. But, no.” I now refer to her as my sister in braids anyway . . . I can dream, can’t I?

Debbi, thank you for being the very best friend a girl could hope for. Thanks for letting me be me. Thanks for “getting” me. You’re the best friend of my dreams. Let’s grow our hair out so that . . . oh, never mind.

My precious daughter recently turned 18. And to celebrate her and this important occasion her dad and I decided to have a little surprise party. Well, it started out little. But, in the end, we had quite a grand celebration – including close to 50 of the best friends and family one could hope for, a fabulous meal for all at a barbecue restaurant, root beer floats all around, personalized candy bars to serve as party favors, lots of decorations, fabulous entertainment, a t-shirt to serve as the guest book, an abundance of gifts, and A LOAD of fun.

And, let me tell you, my birthday girl was truly surprised. Having to make all of the plans in secret, being careful about what we said and when, secret trips to the store, telephone calls made in a whisper, and sneaking into her Facebook account to figure out who to invite was a lot of work, but oh so worth it. (And, truth be told, I might have even told a few little fibs along the way to pull it off. Again, worth it!)

See for yourself . . .

Just a little surprised

The gang's all here

Many friends to greet

Great friends all around

A special day

A sweet for the sweet

Let's jump to celebrate!

So, to my family and friends who helped make this party a success, to those of you who helped with ideas, design and printing, photography and videography, entertainment, serving, directing the choir and serving as M.C. – THANK YOU!

I made a great decision recently. A decision that I’ve made twice before in my life. I joined Weight Watchers (online), once again. I’ve been successful with their online program twice – VERY successful. It’s a fine way to lose. But, like most people, where I need to improve is maintenance. That, my friends, is where I intend to be more successful this time around. I’ve been joined in this new lifestyle by my dearest friend (by the way, check out her great blog, 24 at Heart), and my husband (he doesn’t have a blog, yet), and my daughter (and check out her really fun blog, Kits and Kaboodles). Even my dearest friend’s mother has joined us in this pursuit of healthier bodies and she has a very inspirational blog, Thru My Daddy’s Eyes.

So, for those of you on Weight Watchers, maybe I will share a few tips from time to time. I can promise you that the majority of those tips will be centered around food – one of my favorite subjects. I’m known in these parts as a “foodie.” I take that as a compliment.

In fact, let me share a food tip with you now. ‘Tis so simple, yet so fine and sweet . . .

At the beginning of each year I purchase a new roll of wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby (Brother Sister Design Studio brand), along with a roll of tulle in a coordinating color (they have quite a selection of colors in their wedding section). I find that this brand of paper is of excellent quality and a great value – it doesn’t tear or wrinkle easily and it is the perfect thickness for nice crisp folds. And, I fancy the fact that it has grid marks on the back side, which makes cutting a straight line so much easier. This roll of paper is the one that I use throughout the year for miscellaneous gifts (other than my daughter’s and husband’s birthdays – those warrant rolls of specially purchased paper). Tulle is a netted fabric which makes it quite easy to make a beautiful full bow that cannot be crushed.

Now, it seems that most of the gifts I give are to females, so one roll of paper works fine for me. But, if you have men you buy for, then either purchase two rolls, or, better yet, purchase a generic paper – a beautiful black and cream harlequin pattern, for example. And then purchase two rolls of ribbon – one that would make it “pretty” for a female, and another (black, perhaps) that would work for males.

I secure opened rolls of paper and ribbon with three plain ponytail holders (that’s what we call them in Texas; I think they are also called hair elastics) – the average size, not the tiny ones. These are inexpensive, reusable, do not break like rubber bands, and gently hold the paper in place without wrinkling or tearing it. It is important to use soft bands, not the grippy type that feel more like a rubber band.

Along with the paper and ribbon I keep scissors, a roll of double-sided tape, a few nice boxes (but only those that fold flat for easy storing), white tissue paper and a few blank notecards. Then, when I have need to wrap a gift, all of the supplies are handy.

With the proper supplies on hand, you will be beautifully wrapping fine gifts throughout the year.

Ok, maybe this is a silly thing to post about. But, it’s a little trick that I use frequently in my home. I don’t even remember where I got the idea, but it works.

Have you ever put whole cloves in your vacuum cleaner – so that while vacuuming you are putting the scent of cloves into the air, rather than having that sometimes musty smell that comes from vacuums? If you haven’t already tried it, you should. I keep a large bottle of whole cloves handy in my pantry (or you could keep it in the closet with the vacuum cleaner). After emptying the canister I toss in 8-10 cloves. The next time I vacuum the room gets a fresh scent as well. It’s a fine idea!